[It was a difficult pill to swallow, that sometimes the way that is right for things to progress so that history will remain unaltered and unbroken is a way that feels wrong in his own hands, to his own heart. What they had done in Gallipoli, to him, had been pointless and soulless, more akin to the work of monsters or demons rather than human beings with hearts beating in their chests which could comprehend the pain of others and minds which could, if put to task, devise other ways to decide grievances. And yet what they had done had been what history demanded, and so they had no other options.

The only way he can make peace with all of it is to continue forward, and fortunately enough, they had been served this wilderness to lose themselves in. It was the perfect panacea to help distance him from what they had just left behind, though he knows it will not be so easily to escape in entirety.

Ashitaka returns the smile.]

Yes, true. But even should misfortune befall us, we will be able to defend ourselves.

[In Ashitaka's experience, predators would prefer easier targets, but perhaps the beasts in these lands were a bit different.

Here's another question that's difficult for him to answer. He was unaware of the name of most of the area he traveled through, only heading west, as he had been told to. And perhaps the names had changed between his and Genji's time...]

I traveled west from the village of my birth to a place called Irontown, built upon the edge of a lake, on the outskirts of the forest and the mountains. I... am afraid I cannot be more specific than that.

[There were other people who were Japanese among COST's members, and it hadn't really rung any bells with them. He thinks it's unlikely it would with Genji, but you never know...]

The only other things that I know is that it was ruled by a woman named Lady Eboshi, and it was besieged by a man named Lord Asano.